October 16 - SEPAC Mtg (7:00 p.m. at Memorial School)
October 17 - CSA Mtg - 7:30 p.m. in Blake LMC
October 18 - Grade 8 to Tri-County
Magazine Drive Kick-Off Assembly
Student Council Mtg at 2:15 p.m.
October 19 - Term 1 Interim Reports go home
October 24 - MCAS Presentation/Discussion at 9 a.m. (See details below)
October 25 - Student Council Mtg at 2:15 p.m.
October 26 - 7th/8th Grade Dance (7-9 p.m. in Blake Cafeteria)
October 30 - Grade 8 to Salem
Subway Night for Blake
October 31 - Halloween
November 1 - Student Council Mtg at 2:15 p.m.
Student/Staff Charity Basketball Game (see details below)
November 2 - Magazine Drive orders are due
November 5 - Site Council Mtg (3:15 p.m. in Blake LMC)
November 9 - Blake Picture Re-take Day
November 13 - Royal Pizza Night for Blake
November 16 - CSA Mtg (9:30 a.m. in Blake LMC)
November 20 - SEPAC Mtg (7:00 p.m. at Memorial School)
New Twitter Account (@nat_vaughn)
As noted in last week's blog entry, I encourage you to explore the world of Twitter. I am exploring this technology as a communication and resource tool for both the Blake community and my own learning network. If you are interested in exploring with me, my account is @nat_vaughn. In addition to the weekly blog to our community, I plan on tweeting up-to-date information, Blake happenings, links to sites, and articles of interest on a daily or more frequent basis. Admittedly I had some reservations, but Diane Horvath (one of our Technology Integration Specialists) has been encouraging me to get out of my 'comfort zone' - thanks, Diane. This is by no means an expectation for anyone, but I thought you may find it of interest - I have found the 'dialogue and network' via Twitter to be relevant, engaging, tangible, and simply put - useful.
There are two ways to get my tweets...
1. Go to this link: http://twitter.com/nat_vaughn where you'll be able to see all my tweets without a twitter account.
2. To get the 'real feel' for Twitter- you should sign up for your own twitter account and follow me. This works well when you use the twitter app to get the live feed.
Here are two links that may be of interest or of help regarding Twitter...
A Twitter Guide: http://mashable.com/guidebook/twitter/
'How to Get Started with Twitter' video tutorial from the 'Twitter Guide': http://youtu.be/4YGp4cWdndc
MCAS Information Session for Parents/Guardians
Do you have questions about the MCAS assessments? Would you like to better understand the data that has been provided by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education? Do you want to gain insight about the terminology (growth percentiles, CPI, PPI, etc.) and understand the context for your students and the schools? If the answer to any or all of these questions is 'yes', we would like to extend an invitation to all parents/guardians in the Blake community to join us for parent information coffee on Wednesday, October 24 at 9 a.m. in the Blake Consumer Science room. Nat Vaughn and Susan Bycoff, our Mathematics Content Specialist, will give a brief presentation, followed by a question and answer and 'open discussion' about the tests. This is not a forum to discuss individual scores, but rather to better understand the assessments, data, and reports from the DESE. If you are interested and able to attend the session, please e-mail me ([email protected]) so we have an understanding of interest and numbers.
3rd Annual Student/Staff Charity Basketball Game
The 3rd Annual Student/Staff Charity Basketball game will take place Thursday, November 1, from 2:30-3:30 p.m. in the Middle School gym. Tickets cost $3 each. All money raised goes to benefit Christmas in the City, a non-profit organization which receives donations each year to throw a Christmas Party for homeless children in Boston. This year, 8th grade students and teachers will spend two days helping to set up the party and purchase gifts for homeless children. Students can purchase tickets during advisory or at the door the day of the event. Any additional donations are welcome.
Veterans Day
More information will be coming in the next few weeks, but we will be taking the week of 11/5-11/9 in advisory to recognize and honor Veterans Day with our students. The culmination of this work will be the dedication ceremony for the Vietnam Memorial on Friday, 11/9.
Blake Magazine Drive
Blake's annual Magazine Drive kicks off this Wednesday, October 18 and will run through Friday, November 2. Blake will receive 40 % of every order placed and these much needed funds will go toward special field trips, outside speakers, summer reading programs, and more. In addition, 30 % of the profits from eighth graders' sales will help offset the cost of their trip to Washington, D.C. It's easy and fun for students to participate with many levels of motivational prizes! Look for information packets that will be sent home with students on Wednesday.
Health Information from the Nurse's Office
Medications from the 7th grade Nature's Classroom trip should be picked up in the main office by parents within the next two weeks. Medications not picked up by Friday, October 26 will be disposed of in an appropriate manner.
Private School Applications
Students who plan on applying to private school need to contact their guidance counselor by no later than November 30th. For more information, please call the guidance office or visit the guidance website: http://blakeguidancepage.weebly.com/index.html.
7th/8th Grade Dance Information
The first 7th & 8th Dance will be held on Friday, October 26th. Dance Contracts that must be signed by parents and returned in homeroom to Student Council Representatives by Thursday, October 25, 2012. Extra contracts and Guest Contracts (for children who are 7th or 8th grade Medfield residents not attending Blake) are available in the Blake office and online.
iPad Pilot Information on Website
A new tab on the Blake Middle School website has been established with information about the iPad pilot. Please click on this link (iPad Pilot) if you are interested in learning some information about the pilot. We will be adding more information throughout the year and I will be highlighting the components as they are developed.
Medfield Food Cupboard Drive for 6th Grade
Attention 6th grade families: October is the 6th grades' month to support the Medfield Food Cupboard. The most needed items this month are:
- Juice - both bottles and boxes
- Kid friendly cereal - not cheerios or corn flakes
- jelly - but not grape, please
- pasta sauce
- canned chicken
- macaroni and cheese
Nashoba Valley Ski/Snowboard Club
SAVE THE DATES: The Nashoba Valley Ski/Snowboard club will be running again for six consecutive Thursdays (January 3rd - February 7th) this year. Paperwork to sign-up will be available near the end of October. Students participating will be expected to attend a mandatory meeting on January 2nd from 2:15 -2:45. If a student is renting, staff from Nashoba Vally Ski Area will be available to fit your student on December 15th from 2:15-2:45. Please email Eileen Hurley at [email protected] with any questions or concerns.
Cross Country
This is our last week of Cross Country.
Monday 10/15 : Away meet at Hopkinton State Park
Tues and Wed. 10/16-10/17: Practice 2:15-3:15
Thursday 10/18: Last meet away at Weston
Field Hockey
The Middle School Field Hockey team had a big win on Friday against Dedham....2-0! We are especially proud of the team as we were without the 7th graders, and only had 9 girls to play! Our next game is on Thursday against Weston. Go Blue!
Volleyball
The Blake Middle School Girls Volleyball team has 2 games this week facing Weston on Tuesday 10/16 and Medway on Thursday 10/18. Our highlight of the week will be going to support the high school girls varsity team at home Wednesday night following a pizza party. Go Warriors!
SEPAC
The next SEPAC (Special Education Parent Advisory Council) meeting is tonight (Tuesday, October 16) at 7 p.m. at Memorial School. The topic is the Meeting and Basic Rights Workshop.
MCPE News
MCPE is celebrating 25 years! Check out our flyer in the Thursday packet for more information about what is happening this year to mark this very special anniversary.
CSA News
Please join us for our meeting in the Blake LMc on Wednesday October 17th at 7:30. The agenda for the meeting is now posted in the Thursday Packet. We look forward to seeing you!
We're in week 4 of the 8th Grade Trip Promotion! – At the halfway mark 32 families have earned an average of $65 toward their trip. There are 3 orders remaining so it’s not too late to earn trip credits. What’s better than doing your weekly shopping or holiday gift giving and getting a discount on your 8th grade field trip? Consider your travel plans (Celebrity Cruises, Marriott, Hyatt), furniture or appliance purchases (Pottery Barn, Crate & Barrel, Pier 1, Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, Homegoods, Sears) or home improvements (Container Store, Lowe’s, Home Depot). A full list of vendors and an order form can be found on the Blake website in the Washington Trip section under the Student/Parent tab.
Special Trip Order forms and checks are due by Thursday, 2:10 pm in the Blake OFFICE or 6 pm at Lord's (Scrip box on the front counter). Order forms can be found on the Blake website under Washington trip, at the Blake office or at Lord's. Any questions contact Helen Dewey [email protected] or Cathy Chung [email protected].